Researchers are testing deeper rooted soybeans designed to reach water during drought and store more carbon below ground, but the real test will be whether the traits deliver in farmers’ fields.
Soybeans engineered to grow deeper roots are undergoing field trials to determine whether they can better withstand drought while storing additional carbon in agricultural soils.
Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies are studying how root depth, size and composition could improve crop resilience and carbon storage, according to reporting by The Associated Press. But key questions remain about how the plants perform under real farming conditions, how long the carbon stays underground and whether the changes affect yields.
An $18 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund will support field testing and research into bringing the crops into commercial production, according to a press release.
Wolfgang Busch, director of Salk’s Harnessing Plants Initiative, said climate pressures are making the work increasingly urgent.
“We are actually steering in a direction that is very concerning,” he said. “It will become harder to grow enough food for enough people.”
Identifying Genes That Shape Root Growth
Over the past six years, Salk scientists have examined the genomes of hundreds of varieties of common row crops, including soybeans and sorghum, collected from around the world.
The work created what Salk research professor Todd Michael described as an “encyclopedia” of plant genomes. Researchers identified 347 genes associated with carbon storage and root growth, then edited plant DNA to develop deeper-rooted plants.
“We wanted to leverage the natural variation of a given plant,” Michael said. “We just have to be able to make the right crosses to bring in those genetics.”
The researchers hope deeper roots will help crops reach water below the upper soil layers during drought. Those roots could also deposit carbon farther underground, where it may be less vulnerable to disturbance from tillage.
The team is also working to increase root size and levels of suberin, a carbon-containing, cork-like substance that decomposes more slowly than many other plant tissues.
Testing Potential Benefits for Crop Production
Beyond drought resilience, researchers are exploring whether steeper root systems could allow crops to grow closer together, potentially increasing yields. Larger and deeper roots might also capture more nitrogen and other nutrients that could otherwise leave fields in runoff.
Those potential benefits still require field validation.
At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, researchers are growing deeper-rooted soybeans beneath a canopy that opens and closes to control rainfall and test drought responses. Underground cameras and sensing equipment allow research partners to monitor root development and soil carbon.
Data from Illinois and additional sites in Missouri, Kansas and Iowa will help researchers assess both crop yields and carbon storage.
Because plant breeding has historically placed less emphasis on roots, “we don’t really know what the real trade-off is,” Busch said. “You have to test it in the field.”
Measuring How Much Carbon Stays Underground
Based on earlier laboratory results, Salk researchers estimate that soybeans with deeper and larger roots could store an additional metric ton of carbon dioxide per hectare — approximately 2.5 acres — each year.
Whether that estimate holds under field conditions, and how long the carbon remains stored, will depend on root depth and the surrounding soil environment. Initial field results are expected this fall, Busch said.
A 2025 study co-authored by Busch modeled the potential impact of adopting deeper-rooted soybeans, corn, cotton and canola in countries that already grow genetically modified crops. It estimated that widespread adoption could remove about one gigaton of carbon dioxide annually by 2040.
That projection depends on large-scale adoption. The study suggested deployment could be supported by using existing farmland and agricultural infrastructure.
Farmer and Seed Industry Benefits Will Shape Adoption
For the technology to reach commercial acreage, it will need to offer clear benefits to farmers and seed companies, Busch said. He pointed to the adoption of herbicide-resistant crops as an example of how quickly new seed technology can spread.
“Historically it’s clear, if you have a technology that is interesting to a big seed company, it will go out there very, very fast,” he said.
However, Andrew Bovarnik, head of global food systems for the United Nations Development Programme, cautioned that promising crop technologies can take longer to reach farms than researchers anticipate.
Seed companies, commodity buyers, government subsidies, trade rules and financing all influence farmers’ decisions, he said.
“There’s a sense that if you innovate and come up with a good idea, then boom, it can happen,” Bovarnik said. “But it tends not to. We are stuck in a system that is pretty entrenched.”
Farmers also need evidence that unfamiliar crops will not introduce problems such as greater disease susceptibility or reduced heat tolerance.
Looking Beyond the Seed
Subsidies and other incentives could encourage adoption, Bovarnik said. However, the overall benefits would also depend on soil management, land use and how efficiently crops such as soybeans are used.
“Always keep looking at that bigger strategic, systemic lens to food,” Bovarnik said, “not just the end-of-pipe innovation.”
Busch acknowledged that developing new crops and seed products can take years, making timely funding important.
“It’s a race against time,” he said of climate change. “We are racing against limiting the damage and crossing tipping points, where it’s much harder to return from.”
